


Our Love Will Never Die (Broken Bones and Promises)

by idontevenlogic



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Blood and Gore, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Human Sacrifice, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Sort of steam punk but not really, Torture, Violence, im sorry, wow this uh not a fun ride at all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 17:10:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15393483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idontevenlogic/pseuds/idontevenlogic
Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime was the Heart, and Oikawa Tooru was the Brain. Twelve years ago, they were forcefully separated. Iwaizumi was sent to the Factory where something very special to him was stolen from him. Oikawa sent to the City of Masks where he was hooked to machines and information forced into his Brain.Twelve long years they were apart.They were finally reunited when Iwaizumi finds him lying in an abandoned Train. He's bleeding, because he his head has been drilled, meaning a memory was taken. Iwaizumi just hopes that Oikawa remembers him.





	Our Love Will Never Die (Broken Bones and Promises)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi finds Oikawa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This AU is heavily inspired by A House of Many Doors, but with a whole lot of liberties taken to fit an Iwaoi story. It's such a good game (an amazing soundtrack) and I couldn't help but want to write in two days before my challenge post date high on chocolate.
> 
> There's still a part two yet to come, and that will probably be posted day after tomorrow.

_**The Caverns, Present Day** _

The unforgettable and irrepressible scent of smoke and fuel settled into Iwaizumi’s lungs with a burn as he took a deep breath to hide his yawn, that steadied him, yes, but reminded him of just where he was. If you thought to ask him, he would tell you that he couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment he’d grown accustomed to the toxic scents, and would probably say something abut how he might’ve been born used to it to begin with. However, when you were in the Caverns, the smells of energy were more of a comfort than a bother, a mundane, metal familiarity in the numerous winding tunnels of the endless House. The House wasn’t a home, as the name suggested, but it was, in fact, a parasitic dimension, a pocket world that stole and fed off and from others, and all the unfortunate souls stuck in the House were at the mercy of the ever-changing weaves of tunnels connecting the small and large cities within.

“Kyoutani!” Iwaizumi barked out, his voice ringing out clearly over the occasional clanging and the constant whirring of their rusty, dying engine. “Talk to me. How are we on fuel?”

The back of his engineer’s head popped out from behind the engine, the short cropped blond hair with two parallel black steaks that were, oddly enough even for people within the House, not dyed in, and he turned around to face his captain. His brown eyes narrowed and he huffed, an unintelligible, harsh reply to meant he was really busy. It was enough of a reply, though. They were low on fuel. Well, Iwaizumi had needed to set a course for the City of Sanctuaries anyway, so this would just another excuse on the pile of reason they needed to return to the central city.

He walked past the young engineer and leaned against the large bay window that was their way of seeing what was in front of them. Somewhere in the distance was the sharp, red glow of fire, but other than that, there was only headlights of their train that let them see sixty feet ahead of them cutting through the darkness of the Caverns. Everything else was pitch black, like they were trapped in a void. Still, their little locomotive kept shuttling forward, going from city to city to deliver goods and drop off paying passengers, through the sheer will of Iwaizumi’s sanity of mind alone. It was tiring, stressful, but this was the life that he’d chose and had saved others by bringing them aboard.

An honest(ish) living. It just depended on your clientele was all.

“Well, then, navigate us to the City of Sanctuaries, Kyoutani,” Iwaizumi instructed. His engineer gave a brusque nod in conformation. “We’ll refuel and stock up on supplies for the next delivery when we get there. I’ll get Yahaba and Watari to prepare an extra bunk in case we pick up a paying passenger.”

“As long as they don’t touch my fucking stuff, what do I care about who we bring aboard?” Kyoutani gruffly replied. “Stupid cream puff doctor already thinks he can come in here whenever he likes, and he just pokes around at whatever shiny thing fascinates him!” He picked up a wrench when the engine started making noise again and slammed the metal tool into its side until it quoted down. “Stupid,” he repeated.

 _That’s one way to fix it_ , Iwaizumi guessed. As long as Kyoutani didn’t break their Train, he wasn’t going to tell a talented engineer how to do his job, especially when said engineer was as perpetually ill-tempered as Kyoutani.

Iwaizumi walked back into the main cabins of the Ace, their Train, and felt the locomotive stagger back into movement and start walking forward. You might’ve had the image of a monorail, a commute train, or even something old school in mine, but Trains in the House were nothing like how the tank engines used to be. No, these machines were connected cabins held aloft and moved along by mechanical legs that operated much like a centipede’s legs. In the dark, they were creepy and almost a nasty sight, especially when the people operating the Trains could be thieves and pirates. Still, this mechanical bug, the Ace, was the moving home of Iwaizumi and his small crew of eight, and they would defend it, tooth and claw with the best weapons available.

Roaming the House rather than staying within the safe confines of a city meant that you needed to keep your wits about you at all times, always ready to turn around in a split second to fire a barrage of violent blasts at an enemy. You don’t want someone drilling into your brain to steal your memories now, do you? That was one hell of a painful process, lots of screaming and the emotional trauma of knowing that you won’t be the same without that memory that was stolen from you could cripple even the strongest men and women.

Iwaizumi shuddered at the thought, just as he found Matsukawa and Hanamaki kneeling beside one of their guns, a rusted, iron-cased cannon called the Devastator, which in the hands of his two gunners had incredible accuracy and dealt Train-wrecking damage. He never thought he would have weapon like this in all his life, but here it was, attached to his Ace to protect him and his crew (all thanks to his two gunners that were good at scavenging through wreckages).

“So, City of Sanctuaries?” Matsukawa asked. He was a tall guy with with messy black hair and thick eyebrows. He gave Iwaizumi a knowing, pointed look that then turned into playful smirk and he elbowed his captain as he slumped down beside them. “I told you so, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Iwaizumi grumbled, slouching lazily against he wall of the car. A rag was thrown his way but he easily caught it before it hit his face, and he started polishing the gun along with Hanamaki.

“Once you’re home, you’ll have to finally sleep, Captain Insomniac.”

“I _sleep_ ,” he insisted, but it didn’t have much truth in his words as he was unable to stifle another yawn. He took his rag and started cleaning out the barrel of the cannon, making sure it clear of any residue gunpowder. “You’re the ones that are fucking every time you hit a goddamn mattress.”

“Closing your eyes and pretending to snore doesn’t count as sleeping, captain,” Hanamaki smirked as well, it perfectly matched his boyfriend’s. He was a tall guy with dirtied, strawberry blond hair that was more pink than blond, and a blade expression that was made up by his undying sarcasm and sass. He pointedly ignored Iwaizumi’s opinion on their sleeping schedule. Instead, he continued doing his best to shine the gun while Matsukawa checked over each individual piece, tightening the loose ones so they wouldn’t have any unfortunate accidents in the near future during an actual fight. “You’re a terrible actor, Iwaizumi. Never try for a theatrical career when you retire. You’ll scare away your audience.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “I’m not trying to fool anyone. I doze off occasionally, but that’s it and, you know what? I’m fine afterwards for a couple of days.”

“And, pray tell, my captain, what good does it do you, really?” Matsukawa pressed. He wasn’t scolding his captain, but he was allowed to show concern for his long time friend and good leader. “Keep this up and you’ll be of less use to us than a wooden plank the next time pirates come around looking to fight us for our delivery.”

“Keep fucking at every opportunity and you won’t be able to sit on your sore ass when you need to fire the Devastator,” Iwaizumi returned, glaring at his two gunners. Hanamaki stifled a chuckle.

As if the House was tryin to prove a point, something big rammed into the side of the Ace, nearly toppling it over like it was a precarious tower. The screeching sound of metal scraping against metal filled the air and nearly made their ears bleed at the piercing tones. Steam flooded past the windows like a thick fog and there was the distinct light of another train barreling past them, quickly recovering from the abrupt crash.

“Kyoutani! Status report! What the hell just happened?” Iwaizumi demanded, turning his head back towards the pilot, after recovery from falling over. He received a slew of curse words in return instead an intelligent report on the damages they might’ve endured. “Enlightening,” he deadpanned once Kyoutani was done saying fuck over and over again.

Watari and Yahaba burst into the main car, emerging from the second boxcar, Kunimi and Kindaichi just behind them, peeking in over their shoulders. They all looked like they had questions and Yahaba opened his mouth to start them off, but he was promptly cut off when they heard a very irate Kyoutani scream from the pilot, “I’M FUCKING DRIVING HERE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! GET OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY, OR DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW TO STEER?! THERE’S PLENTY OF SPACE IN THE TUNNEL, SO WHY THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU GOTTA RUN INTO ME?!”

“You know, I really think he’s gotten more diplomatic over the years, don’t you?” Hanamaki asked no one in particular, with an air of sarcasm. However, the statement held an element of truth to it.

“Oh, I think he used to be much worse,” Matsukawa agreed, with a grin. He shifted the Devastator back into place and flicked off the safety with a quick brush of his fingers, as he prepared for might turn into a full-fledged fight. If he could, he and Makki would try to end the conflict in one shot with a hit to their opponent’s hull, then the Ace could speed out of range to safety without taking too much damage. “At least, he isn’t jumping off and running to try and beat the other train with a wrench like he used to.”

“GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARDS! I’LL FUCK YOU UP SO BAD THE DOCTORS WON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO TO PUT YOUR UGLY FACES BACK TOGETHER!”

“I think he’s just really protective of the Ace,” Yahaba stated, as if he was trying to defend the engineer. He and Kyoutani didn’t always see eye-to-eye. In fact, they argued quite often, but everyone could really see that it was the scintillating sexual tension between them that set off most of the conflict. “He didn’t really have much of anything before Iwaizumi let him join us. He was just a scavenger in the Caverns.”

“A lost puppy looking for a home,” Hanamaki added.

“Saw Iwaizumi and gave him the kicked puppy eyes until the captain let him onto the Ace,” Matsukawa finished.

Watari walked over to the nearest window and peered out, maintain a better footing than the others as the Ace tried to regain its balance. The smog had faded and the lights of the train were getting further and further away, the sound of its creaking legs going with it, as they risk all their fuel to, seemingly, escape. “It looks like they’re running from something, captain, given how quickly their burning fuel to get away from here,” he reported. “Kyoutani and I can go out and check the hull over once he steers us into a safer spot.”

“Thank you, Watari,” Iwaizumi huffed, beginning to make his way back into the pilot to talk to Kyoutani, “but we’ll wait until we’re in the City of Sanctuaries. We shouldn’t be that far anyway.”

“Maybe they ran away because they saw my baby here and decided it was better to save their asses other than risk ‘em,” Matsukawa remarked, with a hint of victory behind his words as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Aww,” Hanamaki mockingly cooed, pressing a hand over his heart, an endearing action. “I’m touched, Mattsun. When did we start using pet names for each other?”

“I was talking about the Devastator, Makki, but you’re my baby too.”

“Where’d they come from?” Iwaizumi asked, closing the door behind him. He seated himself at the wheel, taking over the steering as Kyoutani assessed the damages with their flickering control panel. The whee’s leather grip under his hands was wearing away, but the spot where he’d engraved his name was untouched by time.

“The west tunnel,” Kyoutani replied. There was a shift in their course, the Ace startling back into life with an exhale of steam that sounded like the hiss of a snake as Iwaizumi gave the wheel a harsh turn to the left. Behind, he heard his crew give another shout of surprise as a few of them probably fell on their butts. (“My ass!” Hanamaki screeched.) “Captain, what are you doing? City of Sanctuaries is north, not west, of here.”

“Going into the west tunnel,” Iwaizumi answered simply, with a shrug of his shoulders. He didn’t really need to defend his answer, he was the captain after all. “I want to know what was so scary to them that those bastards decided to ram the side of my train and then run off like they don’t owe me for damages.”

“Should we douse the Heartlight, then?” Kyoutani asked, “in case there are thieves or, you know, fucking monsters in there?”

The captain thought it over for a second as he eyed the illuminated heart in the jar locked into the engine. It wasn’t his heart, but it was synched with his mind, and it thrummed and hummed with life rather than beat like a living heart. Dousing the Heartlight would be the logical thing to do if he hadn’t been such an insomniac the past three weeks of their journey. So, he resolved on what would end up being the safest option for his crew.

“Leave it on,” he decided, “I haven’t been sleeping well recently so my Sanity is on the fritz again, and not just because of Hanamaki and Matsukawa’s unending post sex chatter.”

Kyoutani grunted and sat back to continue his inspection of the engine. They really did need new parts if there were going to survive a big fight in the future. “Yeah, you do have a nasty habit of drawing bag things in when your Sanity is wack. I could really go another three lifetimes without encountering another Maid in these fucking tunnels.”

The two of them, in a rare moment of unison, both gave a thoroughly creeped shudder. Maids were not a fun monster to find in the Caverns. Rare enough that you felt safe enough to travel without fear of them, but also rare enough that when they did appear, you were never really ready for its appearance. Even with Devastators, it would be an effort to escape the Maid or deal severe damage. They were sturdy, hypnotic, ghoulish creatures.

The Ace disappeared into the west tunnel. Iwaizumi was expecting to be greeted with more of the usual darkness that they were used to, maybe the sight of distant flames again, but what he was met with was a sudden burst of neon lights, the likes of which he had never seen before in his entire life. Blues, pinks, reds, greens sliced through his vision and he had to bring his hands up to shield his eyes; it was so bright. They were like something out of dream, creating intricate patterns that danced around them and a soft murmur of a voice floated past Iwaizumi’s ears and he soon recognized it as a scream. He could only assume the cause of the lights and scream was a spell gone wrong, beyond a simple Esoteric’s power, but as soon as it appeared and blinded the, it was gone like a nightmare, and they were dropped back into the stomach sinking darkness they lived in.

Startled, Iwaizumi switched on the headlights to maximum, suddenly more uneasy than ever with the absence of light, raising the parameters of his Heartlight despite the warning sideways glance from Kyoutani. Before covering his eyes, he thought he’d caught a glimpse of something right before the lights had become too much to bear, and he was determined to find out what it was and if it was the source of the lights. There was, indeed, a crashed train just a few meters ahead of them, and Iwaizumi steered them towards it. Maybe it was pirates, in which case they would have valuable aboard for the Ace to claim as their own, or maybe it was passengers that would pay a heft sum to get back to the City of Sanctuaries. Either way, it was an opportunity to make a profit and Iwaizumi wasn’t going to let this go to waste.

They pulled to a stop just parallel to the broken down locomotive and Iwaizumi was the first to hop out of the Ace, Matsukawa and Hanamaki following just behind him with their normal, casual enthusiasm. Yahaba, their doctor, and Watari on the other hand didn’t seem so keen on stepping outside, so instead shared a concerned glance an then watched their captain head towards the wreckage. Kyoutani, not a fan of anything that was happening, climbed out of the pilot and then moved to sit right atop the Ace to keep a look out for any other trains or monsters.

With his sledgehammer, his longtime favorite weapon of choice, Iwaizumi busted through the already damaged door to the train. Inside, it was a mess. It looks like it had belonged to pirates. The stench of alcohol and bile was strong, overtaking the smell of gasoline, and there was a coppery taste to the air, like drying blood. They trudged through, overturning the furniture and searching the compartments for anything of value. The train was five cars long so it took some time, but it slowly become a thought that everything pricy had been stolen from the train from earlier, making Iwaizumi’s temper edge towards being nettled. If they wasted precious fuel in coming to investigate, he would track down those crashers and make them pay him back. However, in the middle car, they came across a chest full of money and everyone suddenly felt much better, and they even found some pieces of paper (lists of names, actions, and deeds).

Eventually, they made it to the last car. Just inside was a bright, white light like pure photons and, from what they initially saw, nothing more, but Iwaizumi broke the door down anyway with a mighty strike from his sledgehammer. It turns out, the white light was just a broken alter that had fallen over onto the floor, but it rolled to its right when Matsukawa gave it a disappointed kick to reveal a limp body with a bleeding head. All three of them froze as they gazed down at the stranger and the pooling blood around him, their eyes focusing on the hole on the left side of his cranium, where the hippocampus was located in the brain.

“They drilled him,” Hanamaki said, breathless with astonishment. His stomach curled uncomfortably, like he might throw up. This was the first time he or Matsukawa had ever seen someone will a freshly drilled head. Sure, they’d heard the stories, especially from Iwaizumi who had escaped from the Factory and even witnessed a drilling first hand during his time there, shortly after he was bought from Orphan’s Rock. “They fucking drilled the poor bastard for memories. What the fu—Iwaizumi, what the fuck happened here?”

“I don’t know,” Iwaizumi answered honestly. “Pirates are greedy sons ‘o bitches. They take everything, all the money and then burn the trains when they’re done. This is _weird_ , even for the House.”

Guilt should’ve been gnawing at him, he felt that throb in the empty cavity of his chest where he was supposed to feel things. Part of Iwaizumi knew that whoever this was would only be a shell of who they once were and that it might just be better to leave them here to die in the Caverns, but he couldn’t shake the knowledge that would be essentially leaving someone to die all alone. His heart might be missing, ripped out of his ribcage when he was a kid and stolen away to the Factory, but he wasn’t a heartless bastard in the metaphorical sense. Yahaba was a doctor, so he could probably fix up this guy and then they could take him to the police in the City of Sanctuaries for them to deal with. It wouldn’t be too much trouble, he supposed.

“Help me lift him,” Iwaizumi ordered, and his two gunners obliged with no hesitation. “We’re not leaving this poor guy die out here.”

At first, given the long, limp limbs of the stranger, who was knocked out cold and face caked in blood and mud, Iwaizumi thought he might’ve needed help in carrying him, but he was so light from being underfed that Iwaizumi was able to hike him up over one shoulder and carry him all on his own. Like he was nothing more than a sack of potatoes. Matsukawa and Hanamaki snickered to themselves a the scene. “Prince Charming rescuing the damsel in distress. How fairytale of you, captain.”

As soon as they were all safely back aboard the Ace, he helped get the stranger into the passengers car, where they all also slept in-between their shifts. Yahaba helped him lower the man onto a washed, soft cot and Kyoutani started there locomotive back up and running again, steering them back to the tunnel from which they’d entered to get back on track to reach the City of Sanctuaries. He watched the doctor clean and bandage the wounded head.

“I’ll wash his face now and then help him take an actual bath when he wakes up,” Yahaba said, taking out a wet rag from a bucket filled with water and started to wipe away the hardened blood off their new passenger. “Is that all right, captain?”

“Sure. Just don’t use up all our water,” Iwaizumi clarified, nodding. “I don’t want to run out before we reach home. Let me now when he wakes up, though, Yahaba. I want to talk to him about who robbed and crashed their train like it was, and about his—“ he motioned uselessly to his own head “—Uh, his—”

“The hole in his head that will probably cause him to be emotionally traumatized because he will forever search for something that he doesn’t know that exists or not? That?”

“Yeah, that. His head. Yeah,” Iwaizumi mumbled oh so intelligently.

At that point, he should’ve left to oversee anything else that needed his attention on the Ace, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave, something keeping him rooted to the spot where he could watch Yahaba tend to their newest passenger. The wet cloth slowly soaked and peeled away the grim to reveal soft, creamy skin and delicate features marred by abuse, blooming bruises and rosy cuts. Yahaba also brought over a comb and a bucket of water and started getting the grime out of the stranger’s hair too, saying to Iwaizumi that there was nothing worse than waking up to find your hair in such a mess. His captain didn’t offer up any argument, because he wouldn’t know, keeping his hair in its short, spiky form.

After about half an hour of meticulous cleaning on Yahaba’s part, the stranger finally had a definable face. It took him a while, much longer than he would’ve liked it to be, but Iwaizumi recognized the man just as he was beginning to wake up. His eyes blinked open drearily as Yahaba was taking the comb through his cleaner hair to get rid of any remaining tangles. Big, brown eyes, sunken in due to the violent bruises surrounding the socket that were also scattered like a dying garden down his neck and well past his shoulder blades, blinked up and offered a blank stare to Yahaba as Iwaizumi slowly inched forward, unable to believe what he was seeing.

“Hello,” he said, simply. He gingerly rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand like he had just woken up from a leisurely nap and not a pain induced coma. Soon, though, he winced and reached up to touch the side of his head. “What happened to me?” he asked the doctor. They stared at the both of them like he was in a dream, an eerily calm trance swaying in his eyes.

A wave of aching nostalgia overcame Iwaizumi, painful because he had nothing to receive it, and he slid forward on his knees, effectively knocking Yahaba out of the way (he immediately apologized to the doctor). However, he couldn’t stop his hands from coming up, cupping the face of his best friend from long ago and cradling it ever so gently like he was made of glass. One false move and Iwaizumi would shatter the only find that has ever meant anything to him. Their passenger offered up no signs of resistance but stared back at Iwaizumi with empty eyes lost in that trance, his head cocked just to the right. A hand came up and rested on Iwaizumi’s, his lips parted, peeling and chapped, as some recognition started to sink in like an anchor but not quite enough to fully grasp how important and meaningful this run-on was to either of them.

“Oikawa?” Iwaizumi asked, voice barely above a horrified whisper.

Yahaba looked around like he was intruding but only scooted back a little ways as if that would give them any real form of privacy. What? He was a sucker for heartfelt reunions.

For the first time in years, long and tumultuous years, Iwaizumi heard a nickname that he had missed, but didn’t know he had missed quite this much. “Iwa-chan?” He, honest to gods, never thought he would be so relieved to hear that stupid nickname in all his life. He wished he could’ve felt happiness. Still, though, it didn’t sound right coming from the hollow, broken voice of Oikawa now. It's no wonder he didn’t recognize his best friend. There was no determined smile, no lights in his eyes, nothing that screamed Oikawa Tooru other than his immediate physical appearance, but even that felt like a stretch.

He was like a skeleton now, frail and bony, as if he hadn’t eaten in years. His hair had lost its bouncy flair and was replaced with flattened, matted strands. The way he looked at Iwaizumi, so helpless and frightened, was the most terrifying, though. No matter what they had been forced to endure on Orphan’s Rock, Oikawa had always maintained his pride, boisterous and loud in the face of adversity, and that wonderful liveliness that could get Iwaizumi through every hellish day. There were no such traits anymore, and it would’ve made Iwaizumi’s heart bleed if he had one.

“Oh, Oikawa, what did they do to you? What did they take from you? You remember me, right?” Iwaizumi fretted, something that Yahaba was shocked to see. He had never seen their captain so soft and caring towards another in all his time aboard the Ace. “You remember me, right? Your Iwa-chan.”

“Iwaizumi . . . Hajime . . . ?” Oikawa asked, with hesitance as he pondered and remembered. He lifted his head and pressed their foreheads together. He was as cold as a corpse and Iwaizumi had to hold himself back from wrapping arms around Oikawa to hold him up. He remembered a time when he had been the one searching for warmth in Oikawa. Times changed, and definitely not for the better.

Finally, a light returned to Oikawa’s eyes, recognition and a pleased shock overtaking his features. His lips trembled as tears began streaming down his face. “Iwa-chan, my head hurts. Make it stop.”

Oikawa’s voice was finally cleared of that tone that was so void of Oikawa and was replaced with a sharp sob of pain as his hands came up to clutch at his temples, resting over the wound. He let himself slump against Iwaizumi, limp, like he had no bones in his body, and then he was crying, loud and ugly. Iwaizumi wasn’t expecting the weight and he fell onto his ass, cradling Oikawa like he was a still a child. He would’ve rolled his eyes in any other circumstance, but this was Oikawa, his best friend that had been stolen from him all those years ago, his best friend that had just been drilled. At least, they hadn’t taken away his memories of Iwaizumi, that was reassuring.

“It’s okay, Oikawa. I got you now, I’m here,” he whispered, carding his fingers through Oikawa’s hair. He was surprised to find that even though it had lost its shine and was matted, it was still soft as silk. “I won’t let anything happen to you anymore. Okay?”

Holding Oikawa in his arms like this brought back a slew of memories, good and bad, reminded him of a time where he and Oikawa couldn’t have lived a day without each others. They had been the only lights in their lives while they were captive at Orphan’s Rock. He remembered the way the hard, iron shackles around their wrists and ankles had rubbed their skin raw and red and weighed them down. Their metal bonds made the reality that they would never escape unless they were bought sear into their minds on the hot days where the metal burned more than ever. He remembered how Oikawa would kiss his wrists and say that his kisses had healing powers, he remembered doing the same for Oikawa, saying that he would always be there for him.

When you’re little, even when you know people are bought, it doesn’t cross your mind like you’d think it would. Oikawa and Iwaizumi had never thought they wold be parted until the two separate buyers came, one looking to buy a good, bright mind to hold information and the other for a strong, steadfast heart. On that day, they had been dragged away from one another, and had never seen each other since.

Until today.

“You’re a real dumbass, you know?” Iwaizumi laughed hollowly. If he could feel, he would’ve been crying buckets like Oikawa was now. “What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time?”

“You haven’t changed at all. You’re still so mean to me, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa sniffed, pulling back from the embrace. He offered a wobbly smile. “I’m fatally wounded, aren’t you supposed to be nice to me? At least you’re not hitting me.”

Iwaizumi gave him the weakest slap to the cheek that had them both chuckling, Iwaiuzmi having to force the sound out of his throat. “I missed you, you fucking idiot. You know that? I thought I’d never see you again. Where have you been all this time?”

The small crew under Iwaizumi aboard the Ace had seen a wide range of emotions from Iwaizumi, ranging from his terrifying ire that arose whenever someone threatened his crew to the kindness he showed the kids in the streets as he offered them food and water. However, they had never seen him treat someone with as much gentleness and care as he treated Oikawa Tooru, it was such an alarming shift from his usual, gruff exterior that even Matsukawa and Hanamaki couldn’t bring themselves to make a joke as they saw the care between the two of them. There were a few teases from Oikawa to which Iwaizumi would give a snappish reply that held no real bite.

Yahaba and Kyoutani had even set aside their arguments over personal space to cram into the small hall that connected the cars, pressed flush against each other, as they watched their captain dry Oikawa’s hair, returning it to a fluffy state with their best towel. Oikawa was slowly chewing on tiny slices of apple, and beaming up at Iwaizumi, few words were being exchanged between them but Oikawa was able to do something that the rest of them were able to do easily, and that was bring a the smallest of smiles to Iwaizumi face.

_(“If I didn’t love you to death and back, Mattsun,” Hanamaki started, one day after the event, as they watched Oikawa and Iwaizumi lounging on a cot. “I would seriously be trying to get a date with Iwaizumi. That smile, I mean, goddamn.”_

_“I would be fighting you for him,” Matsukawa grinned, wrapping an arm around Hanamaki’s waist. “Probably everyone else too. I don’t think there’s an innkeeper or passenger that hasn’t temporarily fallen for Iwaizumi.”)_

It wasn’t something sexual, but it was a certainly the type of bond that only came through hardships endured together, a certain closeness and familiarity that couldn’t be fabricated. Oikawa seemed to know the right buttons to press and smiled when Iwaizumi threatened to smack him upside the head. It made the crew want to ask all kinds of questions but they held their tongues to just let the two be reunited, they could ask for answers later, maybe after a few days in the City of Sanctuaries. In the meantime, though, they allowed themselves to simply sit back and marvel at the changes Oikawa’s presence brought upon the captain.

Initially, Kindaichi had carried the impression, sharing with others, that it was Oikawa who needed Iwaizumi the most, but he were wrong. It turned out that their captain was as much in Oikawa as he was of Iwaizumi.

Oikawa, the miracle worker that he was, could get Iwaizumi to go to sleep.

Once they were back on the right set of tunnels to reach the City of Sanctuaries, Oikawa had been left to sleep on a spare cot and Iwaizumi was back in the pilot with Kyoutani pouring over maps, planning with Matsukawa and Hanamaki about their later deliveries. The scream had ripped through the calm atmosphere and Iwaizumi had tore out of the car and skidded to Oikawa’s side in seconds. He had let the other dig his uneven, chipped nails into his tawny skin as he held Oikawa until he had sufficiently calmed down. His gunners said the meeting could wait until morning and they left their captain to tend to his best friend (who they were all taking bets on wouldn’t stay just a best friend for long).

They had curled up together on that one cot, Oikawa resting his head on Iwaizumi’s chest, and that’s how they’d stayed for twelve hours, no one daring to disturb them. It was like that every night now, and the days were not quite the usual. No one quite knew what to do with Oikawa. Did they mention the hole in his head? Did they ignore it? What could they say to him? What was off limits? Could they even really talk about it or would it upset Iwaizumi? They tried not to think of it like walking on eggshells, but it kind of was.

It wasn’t until Oikawa approached Matsukawa and Hanamaki that things started to change for the better. “What are you doing?” he asked them, out of the blue, wrapped in a itchy, fleece blanket. He was taller than most of them so they had yet to buy him any new clothes. So, all he had were his trousers, his shirt effectively torn to shreds, probably by whoever had drilled him, so he carried the blanket around to cover up the scars and bruises that were scattered like blooming wildflowers across his body.

“We found a broken Desolation in a wreckage a while back,” Matsukawa replied, as hanamaki eyed him warily. “We wanted to see if we could clean it up and fix it for use. Why? Need some company?”

Oikawa smiled, head downcast. “Iwa-chan’s busy . . . and you two looked like fun. I understand if I’m a burden.” Insecure? With looks like his and a hold over Iwaizumi like he had, they weren’t expecting that.

“No, no,” Hanamaki intervened. “You can stay. Want to see it? It’s harmless right now, the chamber is missing.”

He nodded and rose onto his knees and started to examine the cannon and its discombobulated parts. His hands moved like he knew the weapon inside and out as his eyes scanned over every piece in front of him. “The chamber isn’t missing,” he whispered. “It’s been melted. You’ll have to buy another one, I think, wadding and also a wind gage. It’s in good shape, though. Upgrade it and it could be turned into a Dominance.”

“Nice,” Matsukawa nodded, impressed. “You know your way around weapons?”

“I can build canons, bombs, rifles, handguns, and more,” Oikawa bragged, a haughty grin on his face. Then something crossed his eyes and he looked down. Why he knew how to build all sorts of weapons of mass destruction wasn’t a happy memory. He wished that it was the one the memory thieves had stolen instead of . . . whatever it was they’d ended up taking.

“Bombs, you say?” Hanamaki grinned, and scooted closer. He had a miscue ious twinkle in his eyes that spelled trouble. “I don’t suppose you know how to make an Ash Barrel?”

Oikawa nodded. “I can, but I find that a Twilight is much more effective for a fast escape. I can also make a Cosmos Cluster Grenade.”

Hanamaki looped an arm around Oikawa’s neck and pulled him into a half embrace. He gave him an excited grin. The gunner had a penchant and liking of making his enemies blow up when they threatened the Ace. “As long as you promise to teach me a thing or two, you and I are gonna get along just fine, buddy.”

Oikawa smiled broadly and nodded. “You got it!” He held out his hand and said, to introduce, “Oikawa Tooru.”

Hanamaki laughed. “Too formal!” He leaned forward and pressed a big, sloppy kiss to Oikawa’s cheek that had the other squealing like he was being tickled. “You’re here with a band of misfits. Hanamaki Takahiro at your service.”

Matsukawa gave a short wave and a smile, a thick eyebrow raised. “I don’t wanna kiss you,” he clarified, before going on to say, “Matsukawa Issei. Pleasure to finally talk to the guy Iwaizumi is all heart eyes for.”

Oikawa smirked. “I’m irresistible,” he said.

“A sense of humor too, self-centered though it may be!” Hanamaki applauded loudly. “Oh, we’re gonna be good friends, Oikawa, I can tell.”

* * * * * *

_**Orphan’s Rock, 12 years Ago** _

_Orphan’s Rock was one of the many places all children and even adults in the House feared. It was a simply a high ground of trash, bricks, metal, and rubble, located in the hottest section of the House. Many of the children forced into servitude there died from overwork and exhaustion, quite a few from the heat, and someone were killed for insubordination. If they managed to live long enough, they were bought off by either the Factory or men and women from the City of Masks looking for new slaves. The children there were kept dressed in dark rags, meaning they couldn’t hide anything from the heat would be burned almost every day until nightfall, and then there were the iron shackles keeping them none too far from their warden._

_Oikawa hated Orphan’s Rock, with every fibre of his being. Every day was hell, every breath was heavy and he didn’t know if it would be his last, and he was headstrong and that lead to whippings, but he endured it because one day, who knows when, he and Iwaizumi were going to his escape that shitty piece of rock together. His best friend and dreams of the finding a safe home in the City of Sanctuaries where they could live out the rest of their lives peacefully._

_“Get back to work!”_

_There was a slash across his back and Oikawa cried out in pain, shivering as is he were cold. Biting his lips to keep from giving the warden a sarcastic comment, seeing how Iwaizumi watched him with such worry in his bright green eyes, Oikawa began shifting through the rubble once again, careful not to scrape himself on the spare shards of glass. He glanced at Iwaizumi who was being sent off to carry a load of metal too heavy for his twelve-year-old arms to hold over to the other warden about half a mile east._

_Iwaizumi Hajime. Oikawa Tooru’s one and only best friend, the only one he’d met that hadn’t given up on the hope of escape like the others did._

_“Warden, I can help him!” Oikawa suggested. “He’s not strong enough to carry it all that way, and you don’t want him dying on you, right?”_

_The warden hummed, rubbing his chin in thought. “We don’t want his heart giving out, that’s true,” he said, watching as Iwaizumi struggled to keep all the beams in his arms. Oikawa licked his lips and glanced back and forth between his best friend and the warden. “Yes, all right, but you two better be back before nightfall. If you don’t, you get as many lashes as I want to give ya.”_

_“Yes, warden,” Oikawa nodded, bowing slightly. He was unlocked from the warden’s circle of chains and he hurried to catch up to Iwaizumi. His best friend was often one of the ones overworked to the point that he might not wake up, and Oikawa couldn’t lose him, didn’t know what he would do if he lost Iwaizumi like that. “Iwa-chan!”_

_“Shittykawa, why didn’t you stay out of it? If we’re late now, we’ll both be punished!” Iwaizumi grumbled, shifting to give Oikawa some of the metal. It was so hot it was searing into their arms with a hiss. They were both biting back screams of agony as they looked at each other. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”_

_“And I don’t want you to get hurt either,” Oikawa returned, smiling as brightly as he could Iwaizumi, because even though his best friend never admitted it, he loved Oikawa’s smile, the same way Oikawa loved Iwaizumi’s smile. “Let’s hurry up and delivery this stupid metal so we don’t get whipped tonight.”_

_The walk was long and tortuous, as you could imagine. Under lights along the Cavern meant to imitate the sun on a summer day, there was no way for either of them to seek any kind of shade. They could only walk. Occasionally, Oikawa would feel Iwaizumi shift his load so that he could reach to hold Oikawa’s hand to stabilize him, his steps wavering from time to time. He was exhausted and it wasn’t all that hard to see. Seeing him like this filled Oikawa with unmanageable rage. They always gave Iwaizumi the heaviest work load, had him working until nightfall when he could only collapse into Oikawa’s arms, breathing so fast and so heavily that Oikawa worried that he might die right then and there._

_The wardens would only chuckle and say, “If he dies, we’ll find a new heart to sell one day.”_

_Hearts and Brains. That’s all that they cared about, not that Oikawa and Iwaizumi and the other kids were living, breathing people just like them. No, they only cared about the profit they could make off their valuable organs and muscles or selling them off to the rich. Nobody there cared for Iwaizumi like Oikawa did, nobody would die for him without hesitation like Oikawa would, nobody loved Iwaizumi like Oikawa did. His best friend knew the first two, because he felt the same way for Oikawa, they meant so much to each other that they would die without a second thought if it meant saving the other, but Oikawa had been careful to hide his growing affections._

_That is until Iwaizumi decided to bring it up, suddenly._

_“Hey, when we get out of here, do you think you’d ever get married and have kids?” Iwaizumi asked, literally out of nowhere and a total, sudden tangent from what they were talking about, which was their hidden stash of candy. He looked at Oikawa who was staring at him with the widest eyes and shrugged, “Just a question. Yes or no?”_

_“I want to get married, yeah,” Oikawa answered truthfully, fiddling with the hem of his rags. “I don’t think I want to marry a girl, though . . .”_

_“You want to marry a boy?” Iwaizumi asked, using his knee to hoist the metal up higher to make it easier for him to walk. “Like me?”_

_“Like you,” Oikawa confirmed. In more ways than one, Iwa-chan._

_“Funny, I guess it’s really good we’re best friend because I want to marry a boy too,” Iwaizumi confessed. Oikawa’s heart soared and he beamed at Iwaizumi with every hope he carried left, reveling in all the joy Iwaizumi brought him. He found renewed strength in his arms and he started to walk with more pride. “Doesn’t it seem weird that we’re already trying to figure this out now even though we’re kids, preteen?”_

_“We don’t know if we’re going to make it to be teenagers,” Oikawa replied solemnly, suddenly remembering that he may never even get to kiss Iwaizumi one day. Because who knows how long they’re going to live? “We never know what’s going to happen to us, if we’re going to be killed by a warden one day, die of the heat, or be sold for parts. It’s not wrong to dream about what we’d want in the future, right?”_

_Iwaizumi nodded, smiling slightly. “I dreamed I married you,” he said so bluntly._

_Oikawa actually stumbled, the metal falling from his hands, as his face flushed a bright red. He stared up at Iwaizumi, mouth agape because how can anyone say that with no fear of what might be said next? How was Iwaizumi so wonderfully honest, so in touch with his feelings and truthful with his emotions? How could anyone be as wonderful as he is and be stuck here? Oikawa didn’t feel like he was worthy of Iwaizumi sometimes, because he was crafty and sly while Iwaizumi was just so morally right._

_“What?” Iwaizumi asked, looking down at Oikawa. “It’s the truth. I dreamed I married you, is that so weird? You’re the only constant in my life, Oikawa. I want to keep you around because you always make me happy when I should be worn down and sad. You make me feel alive.”_

_“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa leapt to his feet and crashed into Iwaizumi, pulling him into the tightest hug imaginable. He couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. “Iwa-chan, Iwa-chan, Iwa-chan! I wanted to marry, Iwa-chan too! I love Iwa-chan!”_

_“THERE THEY ARE!”_

_Oikawa whirled around, eyes wide, and he skittered back from Iwaizumi. Several wardens came barreling towards them. He glanced it, it wasn’t nightfall yet. Were they in some kind of trouble? But they hadn’t done anything!_

_Oikawa stood and helped Iwaizumi. “I’m sorry, we’re on our way now, wardens. Sorry for being late.” He bowed deeply and Iwaizumi did the same, but Oikawa’s eyes flickered up to see two strange men walking just behind the wardens and his heart started to beat faster than a rabbit’s with a sinking fear settling into his stomach._

_“Oikawa Tooru and Iwaizumi Hajime?” One warden questioned. The two of them nodded slowly, glancing at the adults warily, considering taking a step back or even just flat out running in the opposite direction._

_The first warden pulled Oikawa up by the hair, making his scream and kick out as a reaction to the sudden yank and pain. The other warden picked up Iwaizumi in the same fashion. “These two are perfect, just what you gentlemen are looking for. Oikawa Tooru can be your Brain. He’s the crafty sort, always managing to slip one past us, and he’s taken an interest in inventing recently. He’s smart enough to hold what you want. The other is Iwaizumi Hajime, his Heart would make a fine addition to the Factory.”_

_“NO!” Oikawa screeched, kicking at the warden again. Iwaizumi blanched, almost too weak to struggle from the hard day’s work, but he looked at Oikawa, his green eyes flickering with fear, turning glassy with unshed tears. Oikawa reached out to Iwaizumi but he had to watch miserably as his best friend was taken to one of them men for inspection. “You’re not taking Iwa-chan’s Heart! You can’t! YOU CAN’T TAKE IWA-CHAN FROM ME!”_

_“Prices start at one memory and three hundred and seventy gold pieces,” the warden holding Iwaizumi continued, tearing the two kids apart and taking Iwaizumi to a man dressed in a maroon suit, wearing a golden mask_

_“Oikawa!” Iwaizumi gasped out, trying to rip the hand clutching at his hair away from him. “Tooru! I’m going to help you, just hang on! I’ll get us out of here, I promised you, didn’t I?”_

_The men and wardens ignored the desperate exchange. The wardens grinned as the rich men looked aghast at the prices. “I know, I know. A pretty penny, but, believe us, they will definitely make the price you pay now worth it in the end. Iwaizumi is a tough worker, his Heart will go on for as long as you need it to. He might even be able to power a whole city.”_

_One of the men approached Oikawa, dress din bright yellow and silver. He gripped Oikawa by the chin and looked him up and down. “He does have that intelligent glint in his eyes, even though you’ve worked him to the bone. He does have a problem with his emotions, though, it seems—” he glanced at Iwaizumi who was flailing in the hands of the other man now “—but we can fix that no problem. Once his head is nothing more than a storage facility for information, he’ll forget all about his little friend and he’ll be our obedient, little computer.”_

_“Leave him alone!” Iwaizumi shouted, managing to rip himself away from the warden and started running towards Oikawa._

_The warden didn’t let him get far, though, immediately grabbing for his whip and sending a violent lash at Iwaizumi’s back. Oikawa watched helplessly as his best friend fell to the ground. “Hajime! Don’t! They’ll hurt you! Just run! Get out of here yourself!”_

_Iwaizumi didn’t get another chance to run or try to save his best friend, and Oikawa wasn’t given another chance to cry out for his Iwa-chan. The two of them were roughly shoved into itchy, burlap sacks. They struggled and cried as they tried to reach for each other through the dense fabric, trying to peek a last glance at one another. In the end, they were handed over to their new owners and dragged away in separate directions. Iwaizumi was taken to the Factory where his Heart was promptly removed in a quick surgery and then he was tossed into cell from which there was told to be no escape. Oikawa was taken to the City of Masks where he was strapped into a chair for ten hours each day, needles and suction cups inserted into and on his Brain, and he was pumped full of information until he was nothing but numbers and codes._

* * * * * *

_**The Caverns, Present Day** _

The Ace was almost out of fuel, on the last drips of gasoline trickling into the engine, and they weren’t even close to the City of Sanctuaries. The darkness of the Caverns seemed to crawl with life as the Train chugged through the weaving tunnels, and they could occasionally hear the distant humming of a Maid, a voice so enchanting and welcoming but with a dark promise behind the melody. Iwaizumi hadn’t been doing so good and the Heartlight was on the fritz. Sure, it wasn’t his Heart that was powering the Train but he was connected to it, and when he grew weaker, it grew weaker. Oikawa wasn’t much better, holding his head and rocking back and forth on his cot, whispering something about how the tunnels would eat them alive.

Iwaizumi was awake almost twenty-four seven, hardly ever going to Oikawa’s cot to get some shut eye. His crew always had something to say about it, but he promised them that he would sleep as soon as they reached the City of Sanctuaries. There, they would be safe. There, he lose himself in Oikawa with no threats of the tunnels or anyone else. His best friend, his fist real love, being back within his reach was creating a sort of addiction that he found himself drowning him. He wanted Oikawa with him at all times, and that was so strange as he hadn’t felt want or need in so fucking long.

Sometimes it was just proximity or even the sound of Oikawa’s voice and Iwaizumi felt like he was high on a drug, dizzy and giddy. He _felt_! Oikawa could make him feel even though Iwaizumi lacked a Heart, had lost his twelve years ago. Holding Oikawa was incredible too. Without his Heart, Iwaizumi hadn’t cared as to how temperatures affected him, but when Oikawa was fast asleep against his chest or breathing soft into the crook of his neck, Iwaizumi felt a pleasurable, soothing warmth consume his entire body. It was like all this time without a Heart had been a tunnel as dark as the Caverns and Oikawa was the light at the end of it all, there and welcoming into something he hadn’t felt in years. He felt at home.

Iwaizumi was jarred from his thoughts as Kyoutani emerged from the engine room, covered in oil and smeared with looked like charcoal. “We have to make a stop before we reach the City of Sanctuaries,” he said, glaring at his hands. “I’ve made her run for as long as I can but we have to stop at the closest town.”

The captain grimaced and he crossed his arms. “City of Fires?”

“We have no choice,” Kyoutani pressed, pocketing his favorite wrench into his tool belt. “Yahaba needs clean bandages for your boyfriend—”

“Best friend,” Iwaizumi interrupted, thinking that it was important to make that distinction no matter how much he did want what Kyoutani said to be true.

“—I’ve seen you staring at his lips like you want to devour them, don’t lie to me, Iwaizumi. Anyway, we need medical supplies if you don’t want him to get an infection from his wounds, we need more fuel, we need ammo, and we need food. I’m fucking starving—Everyone’s fucking starving!” Kyoutani kicked the ground, vexed. “Yahaba gave me his portions yesterday, because he said he’s not working as much as I am. He didn’t look happy about it, in fact, he looked like he hated helping me but he did and that annoyed me so now I have to buy him food.”

Iwaizumi sighed. _You two need to just freaking talk to each other about your raging sexual tension_. He moved his thoughts elsewhere beside his crew’s unresolved attraction. He really didn’t want to go into that hellhole that was the City of Fires, but if they had no choice, he had to do what was best for his crew. “Fine, get us there as fast and as safely as you can, Kyoutani.”

“Go to sleep, captain, I’ll get us there.”

Iwaizumi was about to argue but a very harsh glare from Kyoutani sent him walking towards the cabin where Oikawa was currently sleeping. The Train was shifting, carefully making its way up and over rocky terrain, but he was used to keeping his footing by now. As he walked, he let his mind wander a little. Kissing Oikawa . . . that sounded really, really nice actually. Without a Heart, Iwaizumi hadn’t ever really wanted an emotional connection with someone, because he could never have one in the first place. He didn’t _feel_. However, with Oikawa, for some reason, something had been unlocked inside him and he could feel something with Oikawa.

He gingerly knocked on the door and then made his way in. He was immediately assaulted by Oikawa wrapped his long limbs around him and pulling him into a tight hug. He was shaking like a leaf in a harsh wind, and Iwaizumi could do nothing more than hold Oikawa, pick him up and carrying him to the bed. Oikawa was mumbling something again, how the darkness eats and gnaws, how he was scared to be alone, but he quieted sown as soon as Iwaizumi was in the bed next to him, encasing him and helping him feel loved.

“Iwa-chan, where are we going?” Oikawa asked. “Why did we stop earlier? The Maids could’ve gotten closer.”

“Shh,” Iwaizumi murmured into Oikawa’s hair. He didn’t smell like blood anymore. Being near Oikawa certainly calmed him, his body warmth and sheer joy in being close to Iwaizumi just made him feel special. And he hadn’t felt anything like that in so long. “It’s all right, we just had to check the fuel gage. We’re going to have to stop again to refill before we make it back to the City of Sanctuaries, okay?”

There was a few minutes of silence where they simply reveled in the warmth emanating off each other’s bodies. It was different than the stifling, thick, humid air of the Caverns. It was comfortable and nearly lulled Iwaizumi into slumber if not for the fact that he was purposefully keeping himself up so that he could look at Oikawa, pet his hair, smile against his soft cheek. He wasn’t missing this for the world.

Oikawa sighed, burying his head in the crook of Iwaizumi’s neck. His breath tickled and sent a spike of something through the captain. “The City of Sanctuaries is safe,” he mumbled. “I dreamed we would be there someday, just the two of us, before . . .”

“We’ll be there soon, and nothing and no one will ever hurt you ever again,” Iwaizumi promised softly. “It’s just going to be you and me, Oikawa, like it was before they took us away from each other.”

He wasn’t expecting it but Oikawa leaned up and kissed him. It was over all too quickly before Iwaizumi could truly savor it like he wanted to, desired too. “Just us,” Oikawa echoed. Then he confessed, “I loved you then, Iwa-chan, and I never stopped loving you. The thought that you might find me or that I might find you kept me sane through all the pain in my head.”

“I don’t have a Heart,” Iwaizumi blurted out, “because it was—you know literally carved out of me, but with you, I feel things and I’m supposed to because I don’t have a Heart, but—“

Oikawa looped his arms around Iwaizumi’s neck and pulled him down until their breaths mingled. “Just say you love me, Iwa-chan,” he whispered, a teasing glint in his doe brown eyes. “You know you do.”

“Yeah,” Iwaizumi nodded numbly, lost. “I love you.”

He leaned down and kissed Oikawa with everything he had, everything they’d missed out on while they were forced to be apart, and was overwhelmed with the rush of emotions that flooded him. It was slow at first, a steady rhythm of short kisses peppering each other’s faces and lips where they could barely taste each other, but they grew greedy after only a minute. When Iwaizumi had to pull away to breath, Oikawa was chasing his mouth, parting his lips to mold their mouths together. It was simple, really, as neither of them had ever kissed anyone else before, never wanted to kiss anyone other than each other. They weren’t trying to go farther, even though they might’ve wanted to but neither were in the state for sex, but they were just trying to feel each other, grow back into that familiarity that they had shared twelve years ago. They missed so much time together that it felt like these kisses were making up for it.

Oikawa’s hands cupped Iwaizumi’s cheeks as he leaned up to press himself even closer to him, humming a pleased sound that Iwaizumi drank in as he kissed Oikawa even more fervently. Desire and love were two things that he had feared were stolen away from him for good, that he stood no chance of ever feeling and sharing a deep emotional connection with someone, but as he kissed Oikawa over and over and over again, he was happier than he ever thought he would be.

Iwaizumi moved his lips down to Oikawa’s neck and started to litter it with praises, kisses, and promises. The flowering bruises of abuse were long gone, leaving Oikawa’s neck wonderfully pale and tempting, a blank canvas for Iwaizumi to paint. He wanted to leave rosy kiss marks. He wanted to bite in to draw out the softest, breathiest of moans. Oikawa was with him, pliant under his hands, and they were together, that was all that mattered.

“Makki, you owe me fifteen gold,” a voice drawled out, thoroughly interrupting their good time.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi broke away from each other to see none other than Matsukawa and Hanamaki standing the doorway, smirking like they just learned a dirty secret.

“They haven’t fucked yet, Mattsun, the deal was if they fucked,” Hanamaki insisted. He looked at Iwaizumi. “Have you guys fucked yet?”

“No, and it wouldn’t be of your business if we had,” Iwaizumi replied, moving away from Oikawa to stand. They better be here for something important other than just breaking what was a very enjoyable moment with Oikawa. He immediately regretted putting distance between himself and Oikawa because he felt a sudden rush of cold air, and the feelings that cam over him when he was kissing Oikawa and holding him were suddenly gone. He hated that, but it happened every time they weren’t close to each other.

“But it is our business because we’re your friends and we have money riding on this,” Hanamaki pointed out, like he was trying to be helpful.

“I put thirty gold on you guys!” Watari shouted, running past the door. “Don’t let me down!”

“Twenty-five!” Yahaba added, following his best friend.

“Five,” Kunimi deadpanned, going at a leisurely walk with indifference.

“I didn’t put in any money because respect your privacy, captain!” Kindaichi shrieked, bolting past them. _What an adorable suck up_ , Hanamaki and Matsukawa thought to themselves.

Oikawa chuckled and stepped out of the bed, a warm flush creeping down his neck and reddening the tips of his ears as he looked at Iwaizumi. “We did kiss, though,” he said with a dreamily happiness, almost to himself. It occurred to Iwaizumi then and there that maybe Oikawa had been harboring feelings for him maybe longer than Iwaizumi held for Oikawa. Something throbbed in his empty chest cavity and he had the desire to onto Oikawa and never let go.

“Anyway,” Hanamaki said, wearing his throat. “Kyoutani says that you should be up in the engine room when we get to the City of Fires.”

“Which is when?” Iwaizumi asked, glancing back at his best friend. (Could they even call each other just that anymore?) He hoped it wouldn’t be for a while so he could spend more time with Oikawa.

“Now, sadly,” Hanamaki replied. “Sorry to cut your make out session short, but you know how the City of Fires is.”

“It’s fine, Makki,” Oikawa piped up, smiling with a tint of mischief. He stood up and smoothed down the creases of his ragged clothing. “Iwa-chan and I can just carry on from where we left off when he takes me to his house in the City of Sanctuaries.” As he passed them, he get them all the cheekiest wink Iwaizumi had ever seen. Now that was one hell of a promise.

“Oh, I like him so much, Iwaizumi,” Hanamaki sighed, satisfied, nodding his head. “He gets me. I can see it now: Oikawa and Hanamaki, the Troublemakers.”

“I thought that was us,” Matsukawa nearly whined, wrinkling his nose.

“No, Mattsun, we’re the Annoying Fuckers to Iwaizumi, not the Troublemakers. Oikawa and I, specifically our beautiful asses, shall destroy both you and Iwaizumi with how drop dead gorgeous we can look. We’ll specifically be trouble for you two.”

Matsukawa looked at Iwaizumi. “I suddenly have zero complaints.”

* * * * * *

_**The City of Fires, Present Day** _

Iwaizumi, not alone in this opinion, never like stepped a single foot inside the City of Fires. The air was constantly clogged with smog and pollution, electricity buzzed along wires at eye-level, an the inhabitants were extremely exclusive and ritualistic when it came to visitors to their city. The colors of the city and its roads resembled embers of the verge of dying, deep, burning reds and oranges mixed with golden yellows, and the towering structures were like obsidian, black and shiny like glass, stretching upwards like the jagged stalagmites in the Caverns The very minute you stepped into the big city, all eyes were on you like you were a member of the bourgeoisie, and whispers about how you might be a spy or a traitor would begin to circle within the few seconds of you appearance. It was impossible to tell whether or not you might be killed in the streets or kidnapped for a sacrifice to the Fire Crow god.

Iwaizumi just wanted to fuel up, grab supplies and turn and run like the reaper was just behind him. Especially given the time of year, none of them wanted to stuck around. It was the month the City of Fires celebrated their creation with a human sacrifice, willing or unwilling participants, and have a feast of nothing but smoked meats that were impossible to identify even by taste by how burned they were. Human, animals, or monsters. Take your guts and you’re probably wrong.

However, for all its underlying terror, the City of Fire was a bustling stop. People were rushing from bazaar to bazaar to find the right attire and trinkets for the upcoming festival. Music pervaded the air, muting the sounds the creaking metal and the hiss of smoke, an ominous, unsettling beat of drums, like the countdown to someone’s demise. Red flags with a burnt orange sun hung from every home, store, and was strung across the stalls, commemorating their love and adoration for their god. Iwaizumi want much of a believer in anything except himself and his efforts, and the fact that sacrifices were the way these people showed their love, it was more than slightly terrifying to him.

The crew of the Ace spread out to cover more ground so they would be done as fast as possible. Kyoutani and Yahaba and Watari went off together, Matsukawa and Hanamaki were a pair, and Kindaichi and Kunimi trotted off together. Iwaizumi was with Oikawa, naturally, and he was surprisingly having a fun time showing him around, but they would occasionally get distracted when one of them wanted to a steal a single kiss, which then turned into a flurry of kisses in an alley off to the side. Normally, Iwaizumi would’ve scolded Oikawa and said that they couldn’t keep doing this because it took too much time, but Iwaizumi couldn’t manage to pull himself away. He was greedy when it came to Oikawa, wanting and desiring. He couldn’t put into words how wonderful it felt to somehow feel something.

“So, you’ll need fresh sets of clothes,” Iwaizumi said, pointing to a clothing stand a little ways down the street. His fingers were intertwined with Oikawa’s, and it was hard to concentrate when all he wanted to do was sit and admire the soft hands around his. “I’d say four pairs of pants, a pair of shorts, sleep wear, a single pair of sturdy boots, and a jacket. You know, just to cove the basics, you won’t need much else in the City of Sanctuaries or in the Caverns.”

Oikawa whined playfully and let his head drop onto Iwaizumi’s shoulder. “Why buy me clothes when you’re just going to rip off whatever I’m wearing when we get back to your house?” he asked, just loud enough for Iwaizumi to hear. He suppressed a shiver, only letting Oikawa see the beginning of a crooked grin. “Sounds like clothes would only get in our way.”

“Yeah, but you can’t be naked in the Caverns, Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi teased, pecking Oikawa’s nose with a grin.

“You have a point. I can’t have your entire crew falling in love with me when I’m all yours.”

“And who’s going to fall in love with a pompous ass like yourself?”

“Apparently, you did, Iwa-chan. Feel silly yet?”

“Only around you.” Iwaizumi cupped Oikawa’s face gently and brought him in for a soft, lingering kiss that made his insides flutter. He didn’t even care that they were in the center of a major walkway. Everyone could look and see, Oikawa Tooru loved him. “I can only _feel_ when I’m around you.”

“Then I’ll never leave you, Hajime,” Oikawa promised, smiling and breathless. He was beautiful like this. Well, he was always beautiful in Iwaizumi’s eyes, but when he was just content and satisfied, it made Iwaizumi happy. He looked at Iwaizumi like he was the only good thing in this world.

It was hard to move on to the task at hand after that. They reached the stand, an older woman giving them a a tight, forced smile as they browsed. It was easy to find clothes that fit Oikawa because he was so tall, and they were having just being alone together. Oikawa would pick up ridiculous hats and try them on, and Iwaizumi would laugh (it felt so fucking good to laugh again). However, it all came to a stop when a small group of children rushed forward and started tugging on Oikawa’s clothes, pulling him along with them. They were shouting something in a language Iwaizumi didn’t understand but Oikawa soaked up every word like a dry sponge. He’d always had a penchant for new languages, and given how he’d been force fed information, Oikawa was well-equipped to speak in any language in the whole of the House.

He was so engrossed that he didn’t notice a man step between him and Iwaizumi, speaking in a low voice that lulled Iwaizumi to sleep after a snap of the man’s fingers. He fell, limp, but Oikawa didn’t see it, too preoccupied with the fascinating children in front of him. By the time the giggling kids left him, giving him a ripe, ruby red apple as a thank you for talking to them, and he turned around, Iwaizumi was long gone.

“Iwa-chan?” he called out, confused, a cold feeling of abandonment falling over him. Iwaizumi would never abandon him this way, they must’ve just gotten separated in the crowd, but what crowd? They had been next to a clothing stall, hardly anyone had passed between them.

“Iwaizumi?”

Oikawa took off running, panic flooding through his veins. His head was beginning to hurt again, but he paid it no mind for as long as he could. The pain killers Yahaba had given him were beginning to wear off, and the prolonged exposure to dirty air was beginning to take its toll on him. Everywhere he looked, he could only see red and oranges. He searched for familiar, gorgeous virescent eyes that reminded him of the occasional tree you saw in the Caverns, earthy-green and so alive.

If you asked him, Oikawa couldn’t tell you how long he searched the City of Fires for Iwaizumi, growing more and more hopeless as the hours passed. He was on the verge of tears, his Brain doing horrible things to him as the pain in the side of his head grew. He could feel a minuscule river of blood go down the side of his face and trickle down his neck, warm and sticky. Part of him was willing to give up. Of course they left him. He was useless other than his Brain, and he’d been drilled. He was damaged goods that would only get in their way. However, the other part of him knew Iwaizumi, knew that before anything else in this world that Iwaizumi would not willingly abandon him.

A scream ripped through the air. Oikawa whirled around to face the director it came from. He could see, in the distance, a towering structure of gold and rubies, the temple of the Fire Crow god. Something inside him, a inkling, told him that thats where he’d find Iwaizumi and he started running as fast as his legs would allow him to get there as quick as he could. As he bolted through the growing crowd, the drums resonated through the air like thunder and a haunting chant filled space between the rhythm.

“ _Burn, burn, burn, burn, burn, . . ._ ” the crowd started chanting as the drums began to beat fast read Oikawa danced faster in response. “ _Feast, feast, feast, feast, feast, . . ._ ”

Feast of the Fire Crow . . . oh shit, was that today? Oikawa remembered when that information was shoved into his Brain. Human sacrifice to the god, and then a festival would take place to honor the creation of a new high priest or priestess. If today was the Feast, then they were in more trouble than Oikawa initially thought they would be in here in the City of Fires. He increased his speed and pushed past children and their parents to try and get closer to the temple. He remembered that visitors were more likely to be sacrificed than inhabitants of the city. What if they got the others too, to be a more fruitful sacrifice?

The chanting and drumming grew louder still, until Oikawa couldn’t hear anything but the beat vibrating in his damaged skull. Up at the apex of the temple of gold, stood a priest with silver hair and and shy smile, like he was just so fucking innocent, and in front of him was an alter which was then covered in blue flames. In the center of it all, Oikawa recognized the short, almost spiked do of Iwaizumi, laid out on the alter, sleeping soundly. Off to the side was Hanamaki, Matsukawa, and the rest of the crew.

“IWAIZUMI!” Oikawa screamed, tearing past the guards at the base of the temple and racing up the golden stairs. His voice cracked with how desperate he was to reach Iwaizumi. “LET HIM GO!”

The priest made a rising motion with his hand and Iwaizumi sat up, eyes blinking tiredly. He glanced at Oikawa and smiled so lopsided you’d think he was drunk. Hanamaki and Matsukawa called out to him, trying to jar form from his trance but he only had eyes for Oikawa. He stepped off the alter and made his way down, meeting Oikawa halfway. He was Iwaizumi, his hands were rough and calloused, his eyes were the same earthy green but they were so void of life it made Oikawa’s Heart ache.

“Oh, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa murmured helplessly. He held Iwaizumi’s face in face in his hands and his best friend’s eyes nearly flickered with recognition, but they still swam lazily. “What have they done to you?”

“I’m so glad to see you’ve come here, Oikawa Tooru,” the priest smiled, walking down the steps. “The Masks said you’d probably be here, but we never thought you would come bearing gifts for our god. This man without a Heart? Perfect. He’s already an empty vessel, the Fire Crow will be most pleased to pick at his bones.” He motioned to the guards. “Hold him, and you—” he motioned to a shorter guard with ginger hair “—go fetch the Masks and tell them that their Brain was arrived. The price is still the same, but we will release him to them once its paid.”

Oikawa froze and the pain in his head doubled. He shook his head violently, latching onto Iwaizumi like he was a lifeline. “No,” he whispered. “I’m not going back.”

“You’ll be numb to it this time, Oikawa Tooru,” the priest promised. “The Masks will remove all your memories this time, leaving your Brain an empty Cavern to pour information into. You’ll forget all about your Iwaizumi Hajime. You’ll be a mindless, little drone once again, the perfect computer.”

“Oikawa, through the fires, walk with me,” Iwaizumi said, taking Oikawa’s hands in his and bringing them to his lips. He then leaned up and captured Oikawa’s lips in a crushing kiss and the priest smirked. His strong arms encircled Oikawa, trapping him in. “Walk with me, live with me, die with me.”

“What did you do to him?” Oikawa demanded, trying to pry himself away from Iwaizumi. The way he look at him, like Oikawa was throwing him off a cliff, hurt, but he he couldn’t stand to be around this Iwaizumi. This wasn’t his Iwa-chan.

“The Fire Crow has filled his mind with fantasies. He thinks he’s living in a paradise with you.”

“You broke him.” Oikawa’s temper rose like a tidal wave. The air around them shifted. There was no longer any wind and a small tremor began to shake the foundations of the temple. The machinery in the distance began to creak as they strained to stay upright.

“We made him happy,” the priest replied, unfazed. “Better to die with illusions of grandeur and false happiness than emptiness.”

“I’ll kill you,” Oikawa seethed, struggling against Iwaizumi.The power building up inside him was painful and made his knees shake but he was going to protect Iwaizumi, no matter the cost. “I’ll give you one last chance. Bring him back or I will topple your city and make you watch as it crumbles.”

“So, you would rather hear him screaming as he died, have countless lives on your conscience? What a cruel man you are, Oikawa Tooru. Maybe we should keep you here instead of returning you to the Masks. You’d fit in quite nicely.” The priest held out his hand. “Come here, Iwaizumi. Paradise awaits.”


End file.
